The Digester
< Monday May 25, 2026

US, Iran near peace deal to end war and reopen Strait of Hormuz

The proposed agreement would establish a 60-day truce, restore access to the waterway handling roughly a fifth of global oil and gas shipments, and end the US naval blockade on Iranian ports.

  1. Russia launches mass drone, missile attack on Kyiv, kills four

    Russia launched a missile and drone attack on Kyiv and surrounding regions overnight Sunday, killing four people and injuring more than 60 others. The bombardment included approximately 600 drones and 90 missiles, with Ukraine's air force claiming it destroyed or jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles. The assault began just after 1am, damaging 40 locations in the capital. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia deployed the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, which travels at speeds exceeding Mach 10. The attack came as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes in Luhansk that killed at least 18 people at a college dormitory.

  2. WHO declares emergency as DRC Ebola deaths top 200

    The Democratic Republic of Congo declared a public health emergency after a new Ebola outbreak caused over 200 confirmed deaths, with 867 additional suspected deaths. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain for which no vaccine or specific treatment exists, originated in Ituri province and has spread to Uganda and Kinshasa. Detection was delayed by at least one month because the variant produces unreliable diagnostic results. The United States withdrawal from the WHO in January may limit the international response.

  3. Pope Leo XIV warns of 'eclipse of humanity' in AI encyclical

    Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas," on May 25, 2026, addressing the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence. The Pope attended the presentation in person, an unprecedented move in Vatican history. Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, was present; his company is in legal proceedings with the U.S. military after refusing to allow its AI technology for lethal autonomous warfare or mass surveillance. The encyclical firmly opposes military applications of AI. UN estimates project AI could be worth $4.8 trillion by 2033.

  4. Webb data upends theory on Neptune moon's origin

    Google Co-Scientist and FutureHouse Robin are AI agents designed to accelerate research by generating and refining hypotheses. In testing, Co-Scientist identified drug combinations for leukemia treatment. Researchers from New Zealand and the United States found a critical flaw in enhanced alkalinity climate mitigation: crushed silicate minerals become trapped in clay as they travel from soil to sea, removing the alkalinity needed to store carbon. James Webb Space Telescope data reveals Neptune's moon Nereid has crystalline water ice unlike any known Kuiper Belt object, challenging the assumption it was captured from that region.

  5. Israeli strike kills family including infant despite ceasefire

    An Israeli airstrike killed three family members, including a six-month-old infant, in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The October ceasefire brokered by President Trump has failed to halt Israeli attacks, with Israel and Hamas deadlocked in indirect negotiations. Approximately 880 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the truce took effect, while Israel controls more than half of Gaza. The total death toll since the conflict began has reached 72,783, according to Gaza health officials.

  6. Founders lock in AI control as SpaceX targets IPO

    SpaceX has released its prospectus for an initial public offering, with OpenAI and Anthropic expected to follow later this year. An Oxford Internet Institute analysis by Gill Whitehead finds all three companies have adopted dual-class share structures granting founders like Elon Musk ten times the voting power of ordinary shareholders. Anthropic has also created hybrid structures including a Long-Term Benefit Trust. Public pension funds are lobbying for governance reforms including time limits on dual-class structures. Whitehead warns that as companies engineer digital AI guardrails, corporate governance backstops have been simultaneously dismantled.

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